Sunderland’s O’Shea: Let’s finish season in style

Manchester United's Robin Van Persie battles for the ball with Sunderland's John O'Shea

Published:22:04Sunday 04 May 2014

JOHN O’SHEA wants Sunderland to finish the 2013-14 campaign off in style this week after being part of a display at Old Trafford which he admitted:” made me proud.”

The Black Cats’ captain said: “We came to Man United with a game plan and we executed perfectly and that’s all credit to the team and the coaching staff for doing that.

“It was a fantastic result and it showed what we’re capable of.

“I couldn’t have been prouder of the lads for the way they performed all over the pitch, substitutes too, in competing and then getting a goal and then battling all the way to the end to make sure we got the three points.

“We’re not completely safe yet but we’ve got the two home games now and we want to make sure that we get the results which mean we’ve earned the right to stay in the Premier League, rather than worrying about results elsewhere.

“The confidence and the attitude in the camp at the moment is fantastic and if we play anywhere near the standard we played against Manchester United, we won’t go too far wrong.

O’’Shea produced the game’s pivotal partnership the 1-0 win at Old Trafford - linking up superbly with former Man United team-mate Wes Brown - to see Sunderland through to a clean sheet after Seb Larsson’s 30th minute goal.

“When you come to Man United you know that they’re going to have more of the possession than you do and you know that they are going to turn the screw at some stages of the game.

“They did that to us at times but we stood firm and the way that everyone worked hard to do that, made me proud.

“We had a couple of hairy moments but we shouldn’t overlook the fact that we hit the post and crossbar and could easily have won by more than a 1-0 scoreline.

“I was a Manchester United player for a lot of years and it feels good to come back and do as well as did.

“And of course it’s a great result for us to take into this final week and two home games in front of our fans.”